/ January 28, 2018 Prepare to Share Focus: Be prepared to tell anyone about Jesus. Bible Basis: Acts 24 25:12 By Lea Vaverchak Memory Verse: Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. 1 Peter 3:15 Students will prepare to share with others the hope they have found in Jesus Christ. Materials: Internet access What does it look like to be prepared? (Answers may include: Having materials ready for school; equipment and uniform ready for my game; studied for a test; not waiting until the last minute to do something, etc.) Are you someone who is prepared for everything? Why or why not? (Answers will vary. Be ready to share your own experience.) Recently, Al Roker from the Today Show traveled to Puerto Rico to help students who have sadly been unprepared for school for several months. Hurricane Maria had a devastating effect on the island last September. Many students lost everything. Some schools have been shut down and many students have been without basic school supplies for a long time. Let s watch how Al Roker and his team try to begin to prepare these students for success. There s a long way to go in Puerto Rico, but this is a great step in helping those in need. Play the following clip [stop at 3:00]: Lend a Hand: Al Roker delivers school supplies to students in Puerto Rico https://www.today.com/news/lend-hand-al-roker-delivers-school-supplies-students-puertorico-t118832 How can being unprepared for something, like not having school supplies or sporting equipment, affect your performance? (Answers: I might do poorly on a test or at my game because I don t have the materials I need to be successful.) Why is being prepared important? (Answers: It sets us up for achievement; we feel confident when we know we have everything we need, etc.)
Being prepared is essential for success. It creates confidence and readiness in us, no matter what we re going to tackle. Today we re going to read about an extremely successful follower of Christ. His name is Paul. Why was he successful? Because he was prepared to share about the hope he had found in Jesus Christ with anyone he encountered. Paul s close relationship with Jesus, his obedience, and his excitement in finding Christ caused him to want to share what he had found with others. He had to let them know about the hope he had found! Paul successfully spread the message of Christ throughout large parts of the world, because he was prepared to follow his heart and God s leading. Let s read on and find out more about Paul s story. (Continue on to Steps 2 and 3 in your teacher s guide; your Step 4 appears below.)
/ January 28, 2018 Prepare to Share Focus: Be prepared to tell anyone about Jesus. Bible Basis: Acts 24 25:12 Memory Verse: Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. 1 Peter 3:15 Materials: Internet access Your Faith Story and Steps to Peace with God printouts (1 each per student) Zipper top plastic bags (1 per student) Pens/pencils Index cards (7 per student) Rubber band (1 per student) Whiteboard and marker Colored beads (black, red, white, yellow, green) Leather cord (1 12 ½-inch length per student) In this step, students will be putting together a prep kit for sharing the gospel with others. It will require advanced preparation on your part so that you have all the components ready and available. If you prefer, students may prepare any one of the items rather than the entire kit. If you choose to have them make only one kit item, adjust your comments accordingly. Before class, watch the following tutorial so that you can help your students construct their Salvation Bracelets. Note that the order of the beads shown in the tutorial is incorrect. Beads should be in this order: black (sin), red (Christ s blood), white (sins washed away), yellow (heaven s streets of gold), green (growth as a Christian). View before class or share with students [1:13]: How to Make Salvation Bracelets Wordless Bracelet Kit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toj-xcppotq&list=plskzpgbdqm4cv1- RXZP6CJtaVobSX-9gp Print out copies of the following resources so that each student has a copy for their kit: Your Faith Story https://bgcdn.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/testimony-your-faithstory.pdf Steps to Peace with God https://bgcdn.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/05/testimony-walletsteps.pdf
Earlier we learned Paul was always prepared to share the hope of Jesus Christ with anyone who would listen. Paul encountered many tough circumstances: beatings, false imprisonment, and escaping those trying to kill him. But that never stopped him from following Christ or sharing with those around him the hope that Jesus offers through salvation. Just like Paul, we need to be ready in any situation to tell others about Jesus. Sometimes we hesitate to share the gospel because we don t feel prepared; we are afraid we won t know what to say when the time comes. When given an opportunity, what would you share about your faith with someone? (Answers: I would share my testimony of how I was saved; I would share the plan of salvation; I would share how Jesus is working in my life and changing me, etc.) What would help you feel more prepared to share with others about your faith in Jesus? (Answers will vary, but may include: I would feel better if I could practice sharing the plan of salvation first with a Christian friend or parent; I would feel ready if I had a Bible with me to share verses; I would feel ready if I had thought through my own testimony first before sharing it, etc.) We want to have the courage and obedience to share about the hope we have in Jesus, when the opportunity arises. One way to be ready is to have a prep kit put together ahead of time. Those who camp, hike, or climb in the wilderness carry survival/prep kits which are filled with supplies they may need in an emergency. They re ready to face any type of situation because they are prepared with the necessary materials. We re going to make our own prep kits today to help us share our faith in any situation. The kits will include items that will help you feel prepared to share about Jesus with others. You ll be able to pick and choose the items that you think would best help you and make you most comfortable to talk with others. Students can choose several or all the following options to put in their prep kits. They should work on the items in class and put them in the zipper top bags when finished. Preteens should put their bags someplace where they can review the information daily such as in their lockers or book bags at school or by their beds. Provide the following supplies to each student so that they can compile their prep kit: A Your Faith Story printout. Briefly review how your preteens should record their own testimony so that they are comfortable sharing it. They may or may not have time to complete it in class, so urge them to finish at home if necessary. Write the following references on the whiteboard so that your students can write them down on index cards (one reference per card). Instruct your students to copy out the verses at home during the week so that they can memorize them. Place a rubber band around them to keep them together. These verses can help walk someone through the plan of salvation: John 3:16 Romans 3:23 Romans 6:23 Romans 5:8 Romans 10:9 1 John 1:9 On a separate index card, have students create a list of people they want to talk to about salvation and add others as they think of them. Challenge them to pray over this list daily.
Steps to Peace with God printout. These are handy printable gospel tracts (2 per page) that can easily be shared with someone. Show your students how to write out their testimonies on the back of each tract so that they are ready to hand out. There will not be time for your students to do this in class, so urge them to complete their prep kits at home. Create a salvation bracelet. Each student will need a black, red, white, yellow or gold, and green bead (one of each color). Practice sharing the plan of salvation using this bracelet in class and at home. You can use the following rhyme to help students remember the sequence: My heart was black with sin (black bead), until the Savior came in. His precious blood (red bead) I know, has washed me white as snow (white bead). And in God s Word I m told, I ll walk the streets of gold (yellow or gold bead). Oh wonderful, wonderful day He washed my sins away! The green bead at the end reminds us about growing as a Christian. Suggest that your students download a Bible app on their smartphones (ONLY AFTER GETTING THEIR PARENTS PERMISSION BEFOREHAND.) Have them go through and digitally highlight the plan of salvation verses above and any others that would help them share about what it means to follow Jesus (some free apps that are available: Biblegateway, YouVersion). Help your students decide and assemble the supplies they want to have in their prep kit. Paul took every opportunity to share the hope Christ had given Him. Do you have that same hope? If you do, sharing about it can be exciting and will start to happen naturally the more you do it. Thinking about what we want to say to others is very helpful and having verses ready to share is important too. But, what can be most effective is sharing with someone from your heart. Telling them about what Jesus has done in your life and how He has changed you. That s why Paul was so passionate. He shared from his heart all that God was doing in his life. If you have not had the opportunity to accept Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, I would love to share the hope He has given me with you after class. If you have accepted Jesus as your Savior, start praying about what God wants you to share with others. You ll want to speak to your friends from your heart. Be praying God will give you specific opportunities this week to share your testimony with a friend, teammate, or family member. Ask Him to recall to mind the verses you may memorize or highlight on your Bible app and what each bead on your new beaded salvation bracelet represents. Most importantly, ask for Him to speak through you. The best tool in your prep kit is PRAYER. Use that tool always! Pray to close. (We are not affiliated with and do not endorse any website or any other media listed on these pages. At the time of writing, we carefully review the referenced material and non-referenced web page content. However, due to the nature of the Internet, non-cited content on the website [including pop-ups, links, and ads] changes frequently and is beyond our control. Please review carefully before showing links in the classroom.)